22 February 2008

An unfortunate choice of words by Bill O'Reilly has been twisted and distorted by liberal talk show hosts, with one saying "this is murder" in response.

Reacting to Michelle Obama's now- infamous "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change" remark, O'Reilly said this on his radio show:

O'REILLY: I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- then that's legit. We'll track it down.

O'REILLY: While talking to a radio caller, I said there should be no lynching in the case, that comment off Clarence Thomas saying he was the victim of a high tech lynching (he said that on 60 Minutes, you may remember). I'm sorry if my statement offended anybody. That, of course, was not the intention. Context is everything.

Before the apology was issued (which the left hasn't accepted, by the way), liberal talk show hosts took their rhetoric to the extreme, pouring gasoline on an already- raging fire. Leading the way was Mike Malloy, who accused O'Reilly of "murder":

If they got rid of Don Imus for talking about 'those some nappy-headed hos', isn't it time to get rid of O'Reilly for this kind of racist lynching? This is murder! This is what black people have been putting up with in this country for 350 years! Oh, the negro got in your way, give me the son of a bitch and let me hang him. Let me lynch him!

And what O'Reilly is saying is 'I don't want to go on a lynching party for Michelle Obama unless this is the way she really feels!

GODDAMN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MAN JUST SAID - HE WANTS TO LYNCH THE PERSON WHO WILL PROBABLY BE THE NEXT FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES! How many of you people listening tonight are going to sit on your asses and let this pass? How many of you?

Here's a YouTube clip featuring Malloy's comments:

Not to be outdone, the Reverend Al Sharpton took an even more inexcusable approach, at first correcting the caller's "lynching party" comment, only to reverse course and agree with her. Even though he clearly knew better, Sharpton allowed subsequent callers to continue their fire- in- a- crowded- theatre approach. From the transcript:

FEMALE SHARPTON CALLER: Yes, ah thank you for taking my call ah Rev Al Sharpton. I have been trying to call you all day because you don’t come on until one O'clock. So, I am calling about um Bill O’Reilly...

SHARPTON: Go ahead, but I don’t come on the air until one O'clock. I’m up way before one O'clock, but go ahead.

CALLER: I’ve been trying to call since this morning I am so fired up. Let me tell you, when I heard this on NBC ah on Countdown that Bill O’Reilly had said that he’s gonna get a lynching party out for...

SHARPTON: I think he said he wasn’t gonna get it.

CALLER: Well he said after he finally do more research he needed to do. He’s gonna get a lynching party. The point is this man is on national TV...

SHARPTON: Right.

CALLER: Dealing this hate we’ll all never never this is not Jim Crow this ain’t the 20’s this ain’t the 30’s this ain’t the 40’s it ain’t even the 80’s. We are not going to allow no man on national TV to he ut he to say that he is gonna lynch, he gonna get a lynching party even if he don’t do it. If he if somebody else on the street or in different countries that I mean different state that they have to go to if they did that then they might do it. So you cannot go around saying and I called.” Sharpton: “I think that you right.

CALLER: I called Fox News this morning. I was so mad I told....

SHARPTON: And what did they say?

CALLER: Well they put me on the answering service for Bill O’Reilly ah complaints. I was calling for the complaints. That’s 8-2-4- 0-0 you see I’m in Washington D.C on Capitol Hill 0-0 with a 8-2-4-0-0-0-1. I hope everybody calls Obama don’t have to say anything. Every black white green yellow, I don’t care what color you are, you call and let Fox News know we are not going to allow Bill O’Reilly or anybody else saying they’re gonna lynch anybody in a a we have had a history of a lynching going into people’s houses killing people waking them up in their sleep and lynching them. We will not have that Jim Crow attitude will not stand in Washington D.C again. I refuse. I was mad I was fired up and I say I called NBC and I I mean not NBC, Fox News and I told them that I was gonna call you and we gonna take care this matter and we are gonna get Bill O’Reilly fired, He has to be fired. Michelle Obama, th they can’t do it. It’s up to the people to do it.

SHARPTON: I think I think the people have got to make their statements and ah ah I will certainly be dealing with this. I will let you know tomorrow ah what response I get from the Obama camp. Ahhh because I think again, the term and I repeat I think one caller reminded me, last Tuesday while I was at the White House George Bush said the term should never be used. As the caller said Bill O’Reilly admires and respects George Bush. So let’s see how you justify this.

And here's aYouTube clip of the exchange:

By going so far over the top to criticize O'Reilly, liberal talkers have actually overshadowed his comment with their own irresponsible rhetoric. Instead of damaging O'Reilly, they have instead called further negative attention to their own on- air excesses.

MIKE MALLOY: "HE WANTS TO LYNCH THE PERSON WHO WILL PROBABLY BE THE NEXT FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES"

Sorry, Mike. You're flat out wrong. O'Reilly said he doesn't want to do such a thing.

Goodness. Has anyone actually read the transcript? O'Reilly was DEFENDING Michelle Obama. Did O'Reilly use a bad choice of words? Yeah, but please. He wasn't being malicious, and he was defending the woman.

NEW YORK -- February 21, 2008: Vermont businessman and former state government official Charlie Kireker is becoming Chair of the board of Air America Radio as his newly formed Pendulum Media agrees to purchase a controlling interest in the liberal talk network from Green Family Media. Kireker takes over from Stephen Green, who will remain on the Air America board.

Whatever prevents you from acknowledging that A) the comments were inappropriate and indefensible and B) that Bill O'Reilly has a long pattern of making similar comments? O'Reilly thinks that having been an inner city public school teacher in Boston - and a good one by all reports - gives him a pass.

Look, this nonsense does not help the conservative cause. If you want to help the conservative cause, then talk about issues like out of wedlock pregnancy, bad schools, out of control spending and deficits, and defense and foreign policy. Defending people like O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Ted Nugent, etc. for their lack of verbal self control and personal disciple is the OPPOSITE of conservatism. Where is the personal responsibility?

It isn't as if you HAVE to act like this. There are TONS of conservative talk show hosts, columnists, commentators, etc., including some that deal very provocatively with racial issues like Peter Brimelow and Steve Sailer, that are very effective at their jobs without doing this type of nonsense. It is knuckleheads like this that contribute to the bad reputation conservatives and conservatism a bad name on racial issues. Conservatives have enough problems without having to deal with all these self - inflicted wounds.

Now I give O'Reilly credit where it is due: he was probably the first major news personality to talk about the illegal immigration problem, and he did so long before 9/11. But when it gets down to it he is just another tabloid personality trolling for ratings at Rupert Murdoch's sleazy News Corp, which really isn't conservative when you consider all the filth and trash it purveys and especially how they are a huge contributor to the Democratic Party.

You folks have to realize some day that you gain nothing by sticking up for stuff like this and the people who have a pattern for engaging in it.